


Part of Your World

by Wayward_Daughter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-08
Updated: 2013-07-20
Packaged: 2017-12-18 02:29:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/874632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wayward_Daughter/pseuds/Wayward_Daughter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel, youngest and most rebellious Angel of the Lord, is dissatisfied with eternal life in heaven. He secretly longs to be with the humans below him on earth, one in particular catching his eye.<br/>{Inspired by this post: http://what-ineffable-twaddle.tumblr.com/post/54856375445/lol-i-cant-get-little-mermaid-cas-out-of-my-mind}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dean Winchester's mother would put him to bed every night for the first four years of his life with a kiss to the forehead and a soft whisper: _"Angels are watching over you."_

She didn't know how right she was.

Castiel lay on his seperate cloud from all the rest. The one he liked when he needed peace to think or when it was his turn to watch over humanity, which was a task he was more enthusiastic about than most. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning over the edge to get a good look down at a little coffee shop in Maryland.

"What are you doing?" Anna inquired, her fiery red hair a little curlier than usual.

Castiel simply pointed she's making an 'espresso'." he completed with air quotes, another habit Anna noticed he picked up. "Before they started brewing it, they would just chew the berries. They originally learned that from goats."

When he got started on human antics, it was hard to stop him. "Interesting." Anna tried her hardest to act like she _was_ interested, lest she hurt her little brother's feelings. But Castiel saw right through it; never calling her out on it because it was a nice gesture.

"It's an acquired taste, really. Some people like sugar and cream in it. I might prefer black, depending on the beans themselves."

Anna was honestly surprised. He had actually given this thought "Why would you need to drink coffee? Or...want to?" Castiel just gave a shrug.

Anna gave a sigh "You're getting too close again. What would father say?" Castiel's wings drooped slightly. He got a stern reprimanding the last time he wandered away from the garrison. "Nothing happened. It's not as if I would actually go down there." he muttered unconvincingly. Anna placed a condoling hand on his shoulder.

"If only I could make him understand. I don't see things the way he does." He idly stirred his finger through the puffy matter next to his knee "I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad."

Anna ran a hand through her head, how many times and how many angels had to go through with this with him? Anna wanted to believe there was good down there, too. But these human beings were...well, choice words in the garrison were "flawed" "murderous" "beasts" and so on. She shared a few opinions with her brother, Castiel was just more vocal about it.

"If father thought the humans weren't worth the effort, than why would he create them? And if he's around so rarely then why does it matter that I care?"

"I don't want to see you in trouble again, that's all." Anna noticed Gabriel approaching when she turned to leave him. There was no point in talking to a brooding fledgling. "You try and talk some sense into him." she groaned when met with Gabriel's shoulder.

The seraph rolled his eyes and took Anna's place beside his younger brother "What's happening on human duty?"

"Nothing." Castiel stated plainly.

Gabriel could have turned tail, realizing why Anna left. However he was much more laid back than Anna, so it was easier for him to be around Castiel when he was like this. "I could take your shift off your shoulders if you like?" It was more of a cautious testing of the waters than an outright offer.

Castiel was silent. However, his wings perked, showing his unpleasant mood had passed and made way for curiosity. He was staring at a small town in South Dakota, a mechanic working on an almost forty-year-old car. He was blotched with grease and his freckled skin glistened with sweat in the sunlight. He slammed the hood and wiped his grey t-shirt over his face and panted in exhaustion and heat. The human smiled at another man, shaggy-haired, in the house he was approaching, causing Castiel's mouth to quirk involuntarily. "He's beautiful." Castiel mumbled. He wasn't paying much attention to the conversation itself, but the human was playfully shoving the taller other, entering the house and laughing. 

So, for the next month or so, Castiel watched and he listened. His name was Dean. Dean Winchester. And Castiel loved the way his name rolled off his tongue. The other man with him was his little brother, Sam. Their mother died in a house fire and their father died in a car accident, leaving them with an uncle, Bobby Singer. Yet Dean was happy and smiling. Which Castiel couldn't get enough of seeing.

Which made him more distracted than usual, noticed by the whole garrison.

Again, it was Anna who approached him.

Castiel's feathers ruffled excitedly as Dean rose from bed. "Brother, a word?"

"Hello, Anna." The younger angel greeted with a sunbeam smile. She had never seen him so cheerful, even in his earlier days of watching humanity. She was torn, either she could keep her brother happy, or she could keep him out of the lion's den. "Castiel." She began, trying to string the right words together "There's been...talk in the garrison. They feel that you've become too invested in your post."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Castiel didn't face her, but there was a forlorn hitch in his voice

Anna let her shoulders drop "It is to Michael."

 _That's_ when Castiel turned around "Who told him? Was it Zachariah?" He sounded almost offended.

"Of course it was Zachariah!" Anna bit out "Everyone is furious at the most and annoyed at the least."

"Even you?"

Anna froze. She didn't know _how_ to feel about this. She would never tell him that she too was once curious about the land below, but a severe punishment wiped that away quickly. She couldn't bare to see that happen to her brother. "I'm just saying, Castiel...maybe you should stop this."

"Since when have _you_ been so afraid of authority?"

Anna didn't hesitate "Since I found what the consequences were."

Castiel, ignored this. Because, of course, he knew better. Who was she to tell him he couldn't? She was a troublemaker first, anyway. But these were opinions he would never voice. He respected Anna, and knew what kind of "punishments" she endured, so he stayed silent. Internally thanking when Gabriel made his return to their side of heaven.

"What's all the commotion?" he greeted, six wings stretching out in mock strain.

Anna began to whisper, quiet enough that Castiel couldn't hear her. So he turned his attention back to earth, where Dean and Sam were alone. Bobby had gone out to run errands so the boys were in charge of the salvage yard. His train of curiosity and admiring thought was cut by the sound of his brother unsheathing his sword. "Damnit, demons."

"Multiple?" Castiel asked, rising to stand beside him. "No." Gabriel answered "Just one. A crossroads demon. Some idiot made a deal."

"We have to kill it." Castiel growled, readying his own blade and scanning the earth, zeroing in on the demon. She was possessing a blonde woman's body, in the house with the two men. Both pinned motionless. "We have to help them!" And Castiel was in motion before Gabriel could think to protest.


	2. Chapter 2

The demon's hellhound tore and shredded at Dean's chest, his screams of terror and agony barely audible over the hound's growls and Sam's cries of helplessness.

Gabriel took off after Castiel, bursting through the door with his blade at the ready. The demon, recognized as one called Lilith, whipped around in a flash of blonde hair, eyes pure white. The hound was gone, an innocent soul in it's jaws. A burst of black smoke shot from the girl's mouth with a shriek, but Gabriel grabbed the dark cloud in his hand and forced it back inside the body and smote it with his bare hand thereafter.

Castiel stood in silence, invisible to a mourning Sam, weeping into Dean's blood-drenched shirt. Dean sold his soul...but why? Castiel swallowed a dry lump in his throat. He had seem too many human deaths to count in his last thousand years of existence. Millions of people dropping from war, disease, hunger, age, or just plain misfortune. But this one was the most cruel to watch. "Where did it go?"

"The hound?" Gabriel mused, disgustedly wiping his hand on his thigh. "Back to the pit, most likely. That's what they do: drag souls to hell." Common knowledge to both of them already, he just needed to fill the air with some kind of noise. Castiel knew his brother wasn't as affectionate as Anna was, but he knew when to be sympathetic "Come on, brother, let's go home." Gabriel reached out a hand and beckoned him to his side, eventually placing it on his little brother's shoulder. Castiel felt a pang of guilt leaving Sam alone this way, tears running down his cheeks and into Dean's mauled chest.

Castiel was in Zachariah's sector within the hour, reporting that a soul had been taken to hell. "I remember now, the Winchester boy struck a deal to save his brother's life after the latter was caught up in a mugging." Castiel clenched his fists; demons always prowl around the lowly and desperate. "He was only given one year instead of ten." Zachariah was Castiel's superior, and was the least tolerant of his mindset and hobbies.

"What should we do?" Castiel asked. He knew Gabriel could smoke Zachariah if he wanted to, but he also was laid perfectly at Michael's feet. Gabriel once said he was Michael's "bitch"

"Nothing." Zachariah smirked. "One less mud-monkey to worry about."

"You can't just leave him down there!" Castiel shouted.

"I can and I will." Zachariah stepped into Castiel's space with pursed lips "Now, you listen to me. I consider myself to be reasonable. The will of heaven has set rules and we expect those rules to be obeyed. _You_ , however are the only one who seemed to not get the memo. Interference with humans, unless ordered, is forbidden." He turned his heel and left in a stride "Get your head off the ground and back in the clouds where it belongs."

Castiel was _livid_. He looked for Gabriel, but he was nowhere insight. If Gabriel didn't want to be found, you can be damn sure you won't be able to. So he looked for Anna, who had just passed her watch to Uriel. He told her the whole story, about Dean and about Sam, about Dean's deal and that Zachariah wouldn't help. "Dean? You know him by name now?"

"Just...please, Anna!" Castiel was losing his patience. And he was desperate. Those pleading blue eyes were Anna's achilles heel and she broke.

"Alright..." Anna deflated "I can cover you for an hour. Only an hour, do you understand? I trust you enough to let you go down there by yourself, but you must come straight home afterward." Castiel grabbed his big sister by the shoulders and kissed her cheek in rushed thanks.

Dean's wails echoed through his separate realm in the pit. Sick green and black clouds blurred his vision of eternal chains yanking his limps apart. Rusty hooks gouged into his hip and shoulder flesh and blood ran down his side. Dean's next torture session was soon to come, his soul already grown weary of hacks and slashes into his skin until the jagged blades slowly made their way to bone. "Somebody help me!" he cried until his voice was hoarse. He was battered and broken when Castiel found him,terrified when he reached an arm out toward him. _"Please."_

It was the "please" that caught his attention. Please help me? Please no more torture? Something inside Castiel ached. His hand gently caressed the man's cheek, a warm light enveloping the both of them. "Don't be afraid, Dean."

And Dean Winchester was saved.


	3. Chapter 3

The amount of energy it took to pull Dean from that horrid place leveled at least fifty trees in the surrounding woodland area of the house. Castiel held his soul, broken and beautiful, cupped safely in his hands. He held it close until it shone brighter than it ever had before, and Castiel smiled. Dean's body was cold and still on the living room floor. Sam was on the couch, fresh tears in his eyes and a cellphone against his ear "Bobby...It's Dean, he--" The angel pressed two fingers to the man's forehead and he dropped asleep.

"I'm sorry, Sam." Castiel whispered earnestly "It's all a dream, now. No need to worry."

Blood retreated back into the body and gashes closed as Castiel gently pushed Dean's soul down into his chest. Light came back into those forest green eyes lit up with life again and warmth crawled to every inch of his skin. Dean let in a gasp of break and coughed. There was a warm hand on his cheek when he opened his eyes and was met with deep, intense blue irises that caught him breathless yet again. They burned right into him, and before he could speak, they were gone.

He groaned and propped himself up on his elbows and shot up. He lifted his bloodless shirt to find his chest clean of wounds. "What the hell?" Dean muttered under his breath. He looked around the room. None of the tables were knocked over, no broken glass...and no demon. Sam was sleeping on the couch, his brow furrowed. "Sam? Sammy!" Dean shook him awake. The younger jumped and was sitting up in seconds "...Dean?"

Sam wrapped his arms around his brother as tightly as he could. "Sorry," his voice cracked when he finally let go "Bad dream..." 

Dean nodded "Right..."

"Dean?" Sam's nervous smile faded when his brother wandered to the middle of the room. "What's wrong?"

"Someone was here...standing over me." It came out almost in a whisper.

"Uh...who?"

 _Who_ was right. All Dean could remember was the warmth of a palm on his face, and the vigor and fierceness of the ocean staring back at him. And a soft whisper _Don't be afraid._

Dean decided to shake it off, or pretend to anyway "What was your dream about?"

Sam smiled bitterly "It was when we went fishing with Bobby last year...and on our way back to the car you..."

Dean raised his eyebrows, pressing "What?"

"Got mauled by a bear."

Dean was still for a moment. Why was Sam...almost having his dreams? He eventually decided to play it off. It was just a weird coincidence. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Sam huffed out a short laugh "Kinda brutal."

Well, if both of them were passed out without knowing what happened since they got home, Dean thought, then maybe it's time to lay off the whiskey challenges.


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel couldn't wipe the stupid smile from his face as he blipped as fast as he could home. No doubt, Anna would have trouble covering for him for too long. After his objection to Dean staying in hell, Zachariah was sure to be wanting to keep a close eye on Castiel.

"Never ask me to do that again." Anna huffed. "You almost got _both_ of us in some serious trouble."

Castiel still hadn't been able to wipe his silly grin away "Why? Is it Zachariah again?"

"No. Raphael. I told him that you were on patrol with Gabriel."

Now he felt guilty. Raphael was much more intimidating than Zachariah could ever hope to be, and he just got Anna crossing paths with him. "I'm sorry, Anna. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Her mouth quirked slightly. She didn't seem hurt, so Castiel simply nodded and left for the Archangels' sector.

Raphael was loose and relaxed in his chair, taking a sip of a drink set next to him. "Castiel, you came." His voice was deep and throaty.

"You asked to see me." Castiel more stated than cautiously asked.

Raphael said nothing for what felt like a long time. He just sat with his looming eyes piercing into Castiel, making him nervous. Until he spoke at last "Is it true you rescued a soul from hell?" It wasn't even a question. He knew.

"I...I had to."

"Was an order given?"

"I--...no."

"Did I, or Michael, personally ask you to?"

Castiel straightened his back and stoned his face "No."

"As I recall," Raphael began, twisting his glass in his hands "contact between angels and humans are strictly forbidden." Castiel remained silent. "Even when their souls reach heaven, we don't interact. We simply...keep track."

"We're supposed to be their shepherds, brother. To watch over them, as God intended." Some would call this angel brave, others would call him stupid. Raphael raised to his feet, all six wings half-stretched out.

"Really? _You_ know our father's will? Tell me, have you ever even met him?"

Castiel's shoulders drooped again. He never _had_ met their father. Some humans on earth doubted that he even existed in the first place. No one could really pinpoint exactly when it was that he just...disappeared. Sometime around 2000 years ago, perhaps. Uriel says that God stopped being their father the moment humanity was created. Castiel always thought this was the reason why so many angels hated humanity. They didn't say it out loud, and they still kept watch of the souls, but Castiel knew. Why else would no one blink while Dean was rotting in hell? But, if there was a God, why would he let such things happen?

An unsheathed angel blade broke the silence. "Castiel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way, so be it."

He couldn't win in a fair fight against Raphael. His big brother was much stronger than he was, but Castiel was faster. He panicked and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Castiel released a quick spark of light from his hand and blasted Raphael in the face, giving him time to escape.

He couldn't turn to Anna. If Raphael knew she helped him, she would be punished just as severely. He couldn't turn to Gabriel, even if he knew where he was. He didn't want to get Gabriel in trouble when he's been nothing but kind and understanding toward Castiel. So he left the heaven completely.

The whole garrison would be out looking for him soon and Castiel felt horrible about leaving home in that kind of disarray. He looked around for a landing spot, until the bay of a hellhound caught his attention. Castiel hit the ground, sword at the ready. He had never seen one with two heads before. It stared at him, a low growl vibrating from its throats, then turned tail back to its home. It stopped and turned around, almost as it if was beckoning Castiel to follow it. So he did.

The pit was not different from the last time. An oozy, dizzying smell of brimstone and burning, rotting flesh. Screams and pleas of men and women echoing from every direction. Desperate arms reached out for him as he passed by their cells with cries of "Help me, please!" and sometimes senseless babble. He really wanted to turn back; hell wasn't exactly the most pleasant of places. But he reached a corridor, with only one door at the end. Castiel followed the hound inside, where it sat ram-rod straight next to an empty chair.

"Castiel." A rough voice greeted from the shadows "Angel of Thursday." The demon was a bit shorter than Castiel, wearing all black. "Just not your day, is it? I'm Crowley." Castiel squinted at him in suspicion. Crowley laughed "Come on...mustn't lurk in doorways--it's rude. One might question your upbringing." 

Castiel pursed his lips and shut the door behind him. Wanting to share as few words as possible with such an... _unclean_ creature. 

Crowley must've gathered this since that snarky smirk never left his face "Now, from what I understand, you're here because you have a thing for this human. This, er, Dean fellow. Not that I blame you; he is quite a catch, isn't he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Crowley clicked his tongue and sat down "My, my...defensive, are we?"

"Angels don't...'have things'" Castiel even completed with air quotes, another thing he picked up from humans.

"True, but you're not exactly an everyday angel, are you?" He rolled his eyes and huffed when Castiel didn't answer him "The solution to your problem is simple, sweetheart. The only way to get what you want...is to become human yourself."

Castiel's eyes shot up. "...Can you _do_ that?"

 _Oh_ Crowley thought _This is too easy_ "That's what I do." Crowley approached him, eerily comforting "Help poor souls like yourself with no one else to turn to." _The Archangels will love this_

"And what do you want in return for all of this?"

"The boring topic of price...look, sunshine, did it ever occur to you that maybe I actually want to help you?" Castiel squinted at him again, giving him a once-over. "I'm curioius to see how this thing with you and your human pans out. It's not every day you get a show like this." He pulled out a scroll, letting half of it fall and unroll out on to the floor "Here's the deal: you sign this, hand over your grace to me, and you will be human for three whole days. However, here's the sexy part, before the sun sets on day number three, you've got to get dear ol' Deanie to fall in love with you. That is, he's got to kiss you. And not just a friendly peck on the cheek, either. One of true love that's deep and meaningful and blah blah blah, you get the gist of it. Now, if that happens, you remain human permanently. If not, you turn back into an angel."

"And what if I don't trust you?"

"Well, then, by all means, stay an angel. You can spend the rest of eternity hiding from the garrison and silently watching over someone you can't have."

That's right, the other angels will easily be able to find him once he resurfaces. But they won't be able to find him if they're looking for an angel. "That deal's starting to sound really nice now, doesn't it?"

Every instinct was screaming at Castiel to turn back. To smite this demon where he stands and return to the garrison, open to whatever punishment was due. But even louder than instinct was that memory of how warm Dean's cheek was under his palm, the way he looked at Castiel when he woke. He pushed all opposed arguments aside and took the quill from Crowley's hand, signing his name in Enochian at the bottom.

"Perfect." Crowley grinned. A sharp pain ruptured in Castiel's chest and he gripped desperately at the now glowing area. A bright light shown and the last thing Castiel remembered was Crowley's hearty chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5

Castiel awoke on a roadside, his head was spinning and pounding at one time and he had a scratching pain running from his throat to his chest. His vision blurred in and out and focus until he noticed his surroundings: a highway of some kind, trees lining both sides as far as he could see (which was limited now. Everything was limited). He rolled onto his shoulder and grit his teeth, his whole body sore. All the exposed skin from his shredded clothes burned pressed against the hot road. A black dot in the distance grew closer and closer, roaring loudly as it sped down the road. A midnight black car, Castiel realized, his eyes widened as it sped right toward him. He pushed his hands underneath him, which cracked under the weight of his now human body. He winced and braced for an impact that halted before a screeching of tires on asphalt.

Sam and Dean Winchester both slammed their creaky doors shut in a panic "Dean, you almost hit a guy!"

"What the hell is he doing in the middle of the road?"

"Is he breathing?"

"Hey, man, are you okay?"

Castiel opened his eyes in acknowledgement and the brothers sighed, relieved. "Come on, let's get him in the car." Sam suggested, already hauling Castiel to his feet while Dean supported him from the other side. He suddenly felt leather cushioning underneath him, comfortable enough that he faded in and out of consciousness. He heard Sam and Dean argue about taking him to a hospital or home. "Home is closer, we don't know if this guy'll last to a hospital." he heard Dean say. It was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't at that point. Castiel could've sworn he heard other voices, maybe angels trying to contact him and failing. He felt himself being carried this time, one brother holding his arms and the other holding his feet (he couldn't tell who was where) and the next thing he knew he was sitting almost upright on a bed, his head propped up by pillows.

Castiel awoke to a log cabin. A well-kept room that was spartan yet cozy, Anna and Gabriel standing at the foot of the bed. He jumped back, startled at first, then realized they were alone. "What in the hell did you do?" Anna questioned. She looked only a little irritated, but Castiel could tell by the flare in her eyes that she was furious. Gabriel seemed more dumbfounded at the recent snowball of events than anything.

Castiel tried to defend himself "Let me explain..." but the words didn't come out. Nothing did. Castiel panicked and Gabriel ran a languid hand down his face "So let me guess, you backlashed at Raphael and bolted. So...what? Now you're human and mute? How did that happen?" Castiel had never seen Gabriel so frustrated. He looked around the room for anything he could use and, conveniently on the bedside desk, was a pad of paper and a pen. Castiel dove for it like it was a lifeline and scratched "DEMON" in hasty letters.

"A demon did this to you?" Anna gasped "How?"

Castiel ducked his head and reluctantly scribbled "deal" underneath.

They were awestruck for a moment, staring at the paper like it had just grown wings and a tail. "You didn't..." Gabriel uttered. Next was a round of unfinished sentences and angry huffs. "Just look at him! _Human_. Raphael's pitching a hissy fit and he's got his faction of the garrison looking for you. They are out for your ass right now, calling you a renegade! Rumors are spreading all over the place, and they're _pissed_. This is the shitstorm of shitstorms! What would Michael say? What would _Father_ say? I'll tell you what he'd say, he'd say 'Gabriel why didn't you look out for your little brother? He was your responsibility!'" That was when Castiel felt extremely guilty. "Why?" Gabriel finally asked "Why would you possibly--"

Anna cut him off "You gave a demon your grace to be with that human, didn't you." It wasn't a question as much as it was a I-know-you-did-it-I-just-can't-believe-you kind of thing. 

Castiel stared at his lap like a kicked puppy before scribbling on the pad again. It took a few minutes, and flipping to a new sheet, but he finally wrote down everything they needed to know. Both angels read it together. "You traded your grace to Crowley--" "The salesman?" Gabriel scoffed "--to become human for three days." "That explains the no talking bit. The bastard probably didn't warn you about side-effects" "You'll turn back into an angel unless Dean falls in love with you, which will make you permanently human." Castiel scribbled some more on the pad and handed it to Gabriel, who skimmed it over "And he'll be hidden from Raphael as long as he's like this. The only reason _we_ could find him is because we knew where to look."

" _Love_ " Gabriel scoffed "If that is not the corniest--"

"I wouldn't call it _love_ , really..." Cas wanted to say, so he settled for rolling his eyes. Something he was becoming scarily good at.

"Brother," Anna sat down on the bed and gently took his hand in hers "Maybe there's still time. We could go to Crowley and get your grace back. We'll all go see Raphael and Michael together and try and sort everything out. I'll even shoulder the blame with you if I have to. You could come home and be an angel again..." She trailed off, realizing Castiel looked away, sullen and slient. "And just be miserable for the rest of eternity." Her mouth twisted and she gave a long exasperated sigh "Alright, alright...if this would, you know, make you happy," Anna grasped for words "we'll help you."

Castiel lept into her arms and squeezed her tight and Gabriel couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I guess I'm with you, too, in this garbage dump of a situation. But we can't be here with you all the time. We have to go home sometime so Raphael and his goons can't follow us to you. And we can't let the humans see us. But we'll be back okay?" Gabriel gave his shoulder a squeeze and Anna kissed his forehead, then they both disappeared from sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Castiel had only a few seconds to collect himself before Dean was in the room with a Led Zeppelin t-shirt and a pair of jeans and boxer shorts. "I didn't really know what size you were, but I took a guess that you wouldn't fit in Sam's clothes." he smirked nervously, gesturing at the shredded white garments barely hanging on to Castiel's body. Castiel nodded and ripped the desperate fabric from his shoulder and began to slip out of it, Dean looking all around the room _anywhere_ but in front of him.

Castiel had watched humanity for as long as he can remember, so he knew how their clothing worked. Tags go in the back, right leg then left leg, and done. Castiel held his arms out and smiled, quirking an eyebrow for some feedback. "Better." Dean smiled. Castiel sat back down on the bed

"So...what's your name?" Dean managed out of the silence.

Castiel perked up, then deflated, gesturing to his throat.

"Oh, you can't speak." Dean was genuinely sympathetic. "Were you...born that way?"

Castiel shook his head. "Then you must've really been through something--" This was the first time Dean had looked this man directly in the eye. Such intensity and sincerity behind them, he couldn't place it. He swore up and down in his mind that he had seen them before, but his brain wouldn't stretch any farther than that. He was too lost in a sea of blue that he couldn't even come up with words for.

He realized he was staring, but couldn't stop. Which was why he was thankful Sam didn't wait to come in through the door holding a few plastic bags and one paper.

"Hey," he greeted, setting the bags on the kitchen table "There was a Five Guy's in the next town over." He pulled three cheeseburgers wrapped in aluminum foil and two drink cups filled with french fries and placed them all on the table, smiling at Castiel "Hungry?"

Castiel slowly opened the metal wrapping, still a little hot in his fingers, and that was when the smell hit him. A scratching pain and rumble erupted from the pit of his stomach and he took a generous bite of the sandwich. There was grease all over his lips and a bit of lettuce hanging out of his mouth as he chewed and smiled. The taste and satisfying little protrusion of his belly made him very happy. Dean nodded with a smirk "I think he's a burger guy." Castiel looked up at them both with a childlike face, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Here you go." Sam grinned, sliding a drink and a cup of fries toward him. Castiel ate until his stomach felt tight; the three of them didn't let anything go to waste. Dean let out contented sigh while wiping his hands and lips with napkin. An odd little rumble escaped from Castiel's throat and his hand immediately covered his mouth. Dean smiled and let himself burp in response, Sam showing them both up with an earthquake from his mouth, standing up like a champion and the two brothers burst into laughter. 


	7. Chapter 7

"You mean he can't say _anything_?" Sam questioned, rolling down the sheets to the guest bed on one side, Dean on the other.

"That's what I'm saying. And it's not birth muteness either. He must've gone through something pretty bad that he can't talk anymore...or won't." They're movements were in sync, folding the quilted comforter halfway down over the sheets.

"Well, we _did_ find him lying on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere wearing tattered clothes and then he fell asleep in the back of your car, so that might be something." Sam stated in his "duh" tone.

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

The sound of the shower shutting off was their cue to talk a little quieter. Sam grabbed the pillow off the floor and put it back on the bed "Maybe he can write it down or find some other way to tell us what happened to him?"

"He probably doesn't want to talk about it." Dean shrugged.

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't push it. He'll tell--er, let us know when he's ready."

Castiel came into the bedroom with his hair moppy and wet, combed away with his fingers aside from a few bangs still sticking to his forehead. The borrowed Def Leppard shirt was a little big around his arms and waist and the plaid pajama bottoms hung low and loose, exposing a hipbone.

"Hey" Sam grinned "figured you'd be exhausted."

Castiel ran a soap-soft hand across the sheets, like silk to the touch, and sat down. The way his body so easily sunk into the molding mattress caught him by surprise and he beamed from ear to ear. The tense muscles in his shoulders and neck were able to relax as his aching bones cracked and his new weight overcame him.

Sam almost visibly gushed, he would admit it even if Dean wouldn't, but that was probably the most adorable he's ever seen a grown man. "If you need anything we'll be down the hall, okay?" He gestured toward the door when Castiel faded fairly quickly into a peaceful sleep, with one arm snug underneath the pillow. 

"Okay..." Sam exhaled, today was a long day, "I'll go around town tomorrow and see if any local police stations have any missing persons reports for him. He can't be too far from home."

"You want me to stay here?"

"Yeah. He shouldn't be left alone right now and I don't feel comfortable dragging him around just in case cops or doctors want to take him away somewhere. I'd much rather he stick with us for a little bit. Besides, I kinda like him, you know?" Sam let slip a light smirk.

Dean smiled tenderly "Alright. Sounds like a plan." They both have taken a liking to this stranger.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm constantly caught between canon and cute little children's story and I haven't been spending as much time on it as I should so bare with me please


End file.
